Living Without a Car.

by wjohngalloway

My dad, who died some two years later, called me as I sat playing guitar exactly where I sit writing this post now.

“John, turn on the bloody telly!”

The first plane had hit, the second was about to hit. Terrible memories. My thoughts are with my friends across the Atlantic today.

However, I digress.

10 days ago the Galloway family started their third stab at living without a car. Ailsa and I have done it before but that was before we decided to breed. ;o)

Thoughts so far?

No big deal, the weekly shopping is delivered via the wonders of the internet. Since the truck is carrying a good number of family’s shopping it’s greener than all those individual cars heading to Galashiels or Edinburgh.

The bicycle is perfect for a town the size of Peebles, need to decide on a decent flat/clipless combo pedal so I can get away with civvy footwear as well as Crank Bros cleat equipped shoes that are currently necessary.

Daily shopping at local produce suppliers is fun, if pricey.

Public transport is LUDICROUSLY expensive.

Biggest shock? There are some occasions for a family of five with an attached elderly relative when a car/van is necessary. The local Ford dealer, David Harrison, is totally switched on to the car free family concept and offers good deals/extended hire periods to folk like us. Kudos to them.

Minor panic when one of the dogs had a wasp sting related emergency. Friends saved the day but a taxi would have done the job.

John, re your flat clipless pedals issue. I use a set of Shimano 324s on my bike. They’re cheap and solid and have a platform side that will allow you to wear any type of shoe. They’re particularly fabulous wearing a pair of walking boots with thick wooly socks in the depths of winter. The soles of walking boots slot right into the pedal cage and grips really well. I’ve not tried them yet but Power Grips fit them too and I’ve heard nothing but praise for those.
Good luck with the car free life. I only use mine for work these days as I have to dash around doing surveys at odd times of the day and up to 120 miles away, but other than that it just sits outside.